Chapter 2

The body was completely skeletonized when it was discovered, and the decayed clothing was a dress that should have been white.

Forensic analysis showed that the time of death was about five years ago. Comparing with the missing persons at that time, it was highly suspected that it was the girl Qiu Yue who disappeared in the same year.

But DNA testing is needed to confirm this. Qiu Yue's immediate family members include her parents and an older brother, who passed away many years ago. Her parents divorced when Qiu Yue was a child and now live in different places.

Chang Ting, who was in charge of the case, contacted them to do an appraisal. Her mother said she was busy. When her father heard that the body might have been found, his first question was, "Did you catch the murderer? There should be civil compensation, right?"

Chang Ting had been working in the classroom and handling cases for several years, and had seen all kinds of people. However, when he heard this, his blood pressure still soared and hurt.

If they had relied on Qiu Yue's parents, the progress of the DNA identification would have been delayed. However, when the forensic doctor was cleaning the bones bit by bit, he found a rusty pacemaker in the chest cage.

The case file at the time of Qiu Yue's disappearance mentioned that she had a congenital heart disease and had undergone surgery to install a pacemaker before her death.

These types of medical instruments are all coded. Combined with height and bone age, it was clear that the deceased was Qiu Yue, without waiting for DNA results.

But how did Chen He know?

Chang Ting stared at Chen He's black and white eyes, and suddenly realized that the girl in front of him was not making excuses, but teasing him.

Chen He smiled instead: "Officer, there's no need to look at me like that. Qiu Yue and I are friends, and I know she has a pacemaker."

Chang Ting's expression was complicated: "Now you don't say it's just imagination?"

"Creation is inspired by life, and this work is indeed based on Qiu Yue. However, the final scene is fictional. Storytelling is the art of interweaving reality and fiction."

"Okay, okay. Great artist, tell me how you made it up." Chang Ting made a "please" gesture and crossed his legs provocatively.

His apprentice pushed him down with his legs.

Chen He remained calm, holding the still-still teacup, and said, "I was an art student in high school and was leaving school for intensive training. During the first semester of my senior year, I started attending intensive training at the Zangmo Art Training Base during the summer vacation, and that's where I met Qiu Yue.

"For students like us, this training base in the suburbs is like a small, isolated society. There are good students and bad students. As the comics say, Qiu Yue is often bullied by a few people..."

Chang Ting flipped through the comics at the same time and read out a few names.

"Yu Er, Xu San... your naming is so careless!"

"These people all have prototypes. Using their original names would be copyright infringement, and I'm too lazy to bother coming up with new names for people I hate."

"Why aren't you afraid of infringing on Qiu Yue's rights?"

"She's dead... No, she's missing." Her tone was light and even. "As far as I know, her parents don't care about her, and her only brother who was kind to her died a long time ago. No one will report me."

Chang Ting's face flushed red. It was red with anger. Chen He's words were like a cold arrow, hitting a sore spot in him.

He reached out to pick up the cup. Zhou Zhengzheng pressed his arm: "Don't smash it!"

"I won't smash it." Chang Ting gasped unsteadily, "I'll just drink some water."

A sip of cold water suppressed the anger: "Go on, go on."

Chen He looked at his reaction with an almost amused expression, then continued, "One time during class, Yu Er secretly wrote dirty words on her back, and I saw it."

Chang Ting flipped to that section on his phone. The "Yu Er" in the comic was a girl, writing on Qiu Yue's back with a paintbrush.

The word in the picture is only half written. But from the direction of the strokes, we can tell that the second intention is to write:

Bitch.

In the next frame, "Chen He" put the paint plate on Yu Er's face.

Two boys rushed up with a vicious look. "Chen He" fought against two of them alone. He first kicked one boy in the groin and then smashed the other boy's head with a drawing board.

There was also a young man who looked like a teacher trying to stop it.

The fighting scenes rendered in black and white are very explosive, with blood splattering and even having a Chinese ink-splashing style.

Chang Ting shook his head disapprovingly: "You paint yourself so bravely."

He glanced at Chen He's thin wrist, which was wrapped around with black and white crystal beads, as if it was about to break the wrist.

"This part is not an exaggeration. I was very good at fighting back then." Chen He said seriously.

"Okay, okay, if you say you can, then I can." Chang Ting flipped through the comics quickly.

After receiving a call from a reader, he had read the comic countless times. But it felt different to see the author and the characters sitting right in front of him.

He said, "And then you two become as close as honey?"

Chen He seemed to be lost in memories, with a dazed look in his eyes for a moment.

"We used to talk about everything. That's when I learned she was a patient. She had a congenital heart disease and a pacemaker. Because of her poor health, I'd heard her talk about her fantasies about the end more than once.

"She said that if she felt death was approaching, she would not want to make those who loved her sad, and would quietly leave alone, like a puppy unwilling to die at home, and die in a place where no one could find her.

"But if we can't find her, it will leave us with regrets. So, it's best to wait five years until the pain has faded, and then let someone find her."

Her words were somewhat touching, but Chang Ting remained unmoved: "This part is not in the comics."

"Why not?"

Chen He reached out and helped him scroll through the pages until he found one of them.

It was a large frame covering the entire screen, the silhouettes of two girls leaning against each other under the starlight, the feeling of memories almost overflowing the screen. It was very heartwarming to watch.

The dialogue is just vague ellipses, and there is no indication that they are fantasizing about a beautiful death.

So whether Qiu Yue said these words at that time was just Chen He's one-sided statement.

Cannot be verified.

Chang Ting grasped the key point sharply: "You mean to say that having someone discover your body five years later was Qiu Yue's plan. How could a dead person possibly control time?"

"Qiu Yue is so smart. She already had an idea," Chen He said with admiration. "She said she would find a place to bury herself in the ground and sprinkle her body with red spider lily seeds."

“Why is it Higanbana?”

"Because the red spider lily has a characteristic: after the seeds are sown, it will take five years for it to bloom. The bright flowers will attract people's attention, and someone will discover it. Moreover, the red spider lily represents separation and longing, which is both romantic and in line with the theme."

“That doesn’t make sense.”

"Why is it unreasonable?"

"How can a person bury himself and plant flowers in the dirt?"

Chen He adjusted his sitting position and seemed to be in high spirits: "Why not? There are so many ways!"

"For example?"

"Have you seen the news story about a child digging a hole in a sand dune and the hole collapsed, burying the child?

"Qiu Yue can follow this example. First, find a relatively steep slope with relatively soft soil, choose a location and sprinkle a layer of flower seeds. To be on the safe side, stuff some seeds inside your clothes as well.

"Then dig a hole diagonally at the bottom of the slope. When a landslide is about to occur, crawl into it and kick the top of the hole to trigger the landslide. Wouldn't that bury you?"

Chang Ting and Zhou Zhengzheng looked at her with complicated expressions.

Zhou Zhengzheng said with difficulty, "That's difficult to achieve. You said Qiu Yue has a heart disease, so her physical strength must be very poor. Digging is hard work. Unless... you have help."

Chang Ting stared at Chen He and suddenly interrupted: "Is that helper you?"

Chen He smiled: "What do you mean?"

"Sorry, that was a slip of the tongue. I meant, is that helper Chen He from the comics? You said that Chen He was good at fighting, so he should be strong enough for digging as well."